Hello curious readers! I've been so busy this summer and want to fill you in on some of my current projects and directions in art and design.

I stepped out in a big way (left my day job) over the spring, and I am happy to say I have been working full time at art ever since! I'm never bored, that's for sure! Adventures are for creating, and projects always seem to find me or I find them!

Resort Design in Key Largo

This summer, my design work got discovered by the Playa Largo Resort in Key West, Florida. It started when I began collecting vintage cedar wood floats that were made right here in Astoria, Oregon in the 1950's. You know, the ones that were used before plastic and styro-foam became a big thing and formed the big mass floating in our sweet Pacific (ugh). The resort has been asking me for them, and I've been dutifully refurbishing them and even shipping them off just before and after the big, destructive Hurricane Irma. Don't worry - the resort fared well since they are one of the newest structures on the island, and building codes there require greater resistance to the forces of nature to lessen the blows that seasonally arrive. I'm excited to say that my project has become a signature part of the resort's design! And Playa Largo Resort is one of the Marriott's "Autograph Collection" of boutique hotels. Yes, that certainly feels a bit fancy for me.

Back in our Oregon Coast paradise, I have been busy working with several Astoria shop owners to increase the presence of my work on the retail scene. This comes after months of art scene business, doing solo and group shows of my work. I was asked by several shops to supply my photos on postcards, and so far they are loving them! Thanks, you are helping me survive out here in this old city.

That Postcard Thing!

One of the shops where you can find my stationery cards, postcards, mini wood panels, and a few refurbished floats is the illustrious Luminari Arts! These shop owners are killing it in the card and unique gifts departments. I am so excited to finally be in there! You can find Thailand-carved wood decorations, folksy northwest fish paintings, crow stuff, and more. I could spend at least 30 minutes there just perusing their vast, humorous, and creative collection of cards!

Getting Local

Several other shops carry my other different stationery cards. Each shop has a unique selection, so you have to look around to find them all. I'm not letting any one shop bogart the postcards though - we artists have to do what we have to do to get our work out there, and sometimes that requires buying stuff in bulk quantities. A few of these places where you can find my coastal tote bags, postcards, and cards are Old Town Framing Co., Maiden Astoria, The Astoria Column Gift Shop, Buoy Beer Co., and the ever-fun collection at Riverfront Trading Co., aka Coldwater Skate and Surf (reborn).

Well, as far as the near future... I hope and pray I get invited to Key Largo to check out the wares I'm shipping down there. I need a break for real! Sunned freckles, reggae music, Caribbean breezes, and white sand would do this girl some good! This winter will be a good time to hunker down and create new work while pushing existing work into the hands of many, and as always, looking for new art and design opportunities. I don't plan on doing a northwest winter ever again without staying in a warm locale for at least a couple of weeks, now that I have found out how much cheaper winter flying can be!